For our last day in the Netherlands, we visited the Hague which is the administrative capital of the Netherlands. It is home to the royal family and the parliament. While there, our tour guide explained the inner workings of the Dutch government. We learned that the Netherlands is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy which means they have a monarch, prime minister, and parliament. Though the king has no independent political power and serves a ceremonial and diplomatic role.

One of the biggest differences besides structure between the Netherlands and the USA is the number of parties and the election process. Although the Netherlands has a few prominent parties, it still has about 15 total parties that each get at least some say in parliament and the government. Additionally, the prime minister is elected by popular vote from the parties. The winning party gets to appoint the prime minister.

After our small tour we explored the city and visited a local family run Indonesian restaurant. For my meal I tried the beef, rice, and vegetables. The restaurant had a nice cozy atmosphere and the food was delicious!

The Hague features various sustainability initiatives that we have previously seen such as flushing toilets with rainwater, greenspaces, and clean energy sources. The Hague aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 and is on track to do so.

We ended our day with a farewell dinner at a restaurant closer to our hotel. It was so great to connect with everyone on the trip one last time before our departure.

I am very grateful to have had this opportunity! Thank you to all who helped in organizing this program and to our professors, Dr. Kerzmann and Dr. Dukes for making this trip possible! I hope to apply all that I have learned to future coursework and projects.